


Starlight

by DreamSequence



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Bunker, Castiel Needs a Hug (Supernatural), Castiel and Dean Winchester Have a Profound Bond, Domesticity, Everyone lives, Family, Fix-It, Friendship, Future Fic, Post-Finale, Pretty PG, Some minor swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:55:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28241247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamSequence/pseuds/DreamSequence
Summary: “If I can’t protect you…or Sam, or Jack, then what is the point of me? That’s all my life has been about and now, I can’t heal, I can’t kill, I’m a liability.” Cas continued, speaking softly, his lips turning into a frown.Or: Jack and Cas lose their powers after defeating Chuck and setting things right. Now they have to learn how to be human, and Cas struggles. Everyone lives, everyone stays together, and our boys are one big happy family.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 4
Kudos: 69





	Starlight

**Author's Note:**

> Gooooooood morning! 
> 
> This is my first fic on ao3! I somehow stumbled back into fanfiction during our lovely quarantine period and have fallen in a rabbit hole, enjoying a plethora of fics since. I honestly didn't read any SPN fics until after the garbage finale, but it did turn me right back into that superfan I was many years ago. I haven't written fiction in years so this was a lot of fun. I've been rewatching some episodes, so hopefully, references and everything is correct, but it's been a while since I was submerged in all the past storylines. Forgive me for any mistakes. 
> 
> Just a short and sweet post-finale fic with our boys, enjoy!

Dean was too busy shoveling pancakes into his mouth that he didn’t hear the soft click of the door shut behind him. Sam was standing over the stove, mixing eggs, frying bacon, a dish rag thrown over his shoulder. It had been a long day for the boys and their angel, with a 4 hour drive out to central Missouri to check on a busted case. What they had thought was a possible zombie uprising conspired by an underground demon had simply turned out to be the work of serial grave robbers, doing their best to scrounge up every ounce of buried jewels and pawn them off in neighboring counties.

As soon as the boys arrived at the graveyard, dressed in their dark suits and FBI badges at the ready, they were turned away by local police who told them that the perpetrators had turned themselves in. Jack was crestfallen, partially excited to work on another hunt with his family, partially excited to put his newfound human skills to the test (more on that later). This hunt reminded him of his time in McCook, Nebraska when he met Harper the Necromancer. He thought his experience in that hunt might help them in this case, but it was not meant to be. Soon he would get to prove himself, he thought. 

Dean and Sam begrudgingly climbed back into the Impala, somewhat annoyed at the idea that they had wasted a whole day on something purely human. Still, it was nice to get out occasionally. The only person without any response to the case had been Cas, who sat stoically in the backseat, eyes focusing intensely every time they begun talking about possible monsters and action plans. Now, he leaned back, staring outside the window as Dean drove slightly over the speed limit back to the bunker.  
The boys had all stopped at a Diner about halfway back home that afternoon, per Dean’s request, where they ordered a round of coffees and burgers, but by 10pm that night, they were all ravenous once again.

\--- 

“Sammy, you know what I’m thinking?” Dean said, walking into the main room of the bunker, where the rest of the boys were sitting, pouring over more pages of possible cases and books filled with information on all sorts of monsters. Dean looked over to Sam, his mouth twisted into a small grin, hands outspread on each side, gesturing to his invisible grand scheme. 

Sam furrowed his eyebrows, small wrinkles forming on his forehead. 

“Uh…no?” Sam stated, hands resting on the laptop in front of him, still looking up at his older brother. 

“Sammy’s famous bacon and pancakes!” Dean’s smile grew wider and his arms opened even further. The elbows of shoulders of his usual dark green plaid shirt wrinkled at the movement. “Huh? How ‘bout it? It’s been a shit day, why don’t we introduce Cas and Jack to the ‘breakfast for dinner’ concept?” Dean’s smile was still plastered on his face, but his eyebrows raised, and he pointed a finger at Cas before opening his palm again looking back at his baby brother. Sam sighed, exhausted from their drive, still sour over a missed opportunity to help or save anyone. And yet, he knew how much Dean loved his cooking, especially breakfast food. 

When they were kids, Dean would come back home from a hunt with his father in the early morning hours. Sam would be standing over the burner, fixing his breakfast, before sitting down with his books. He got pretty good at it over time, seeing how Dad and Dean weren’t around to get him up and instead came home to crash into their own beds as Sam rose with the sun. It wasn’t long before Dean started walking into the kitchen every morning as they returned, sliding out a plate from a cabinet, and throwing some of Sam’s pancakes onto it for himself. Eventually, Sam learned to fix more for himself than what he really needed. 

“Uh…yeah, sure. We probably need the break anyway.” Sam smiled rubbing his hands over his face. He leaned back in his chair, closed the laptop, and sighed. He pushed his chair back and stood up, towering over the main table, picking up his glass of water and heading towards the kitchen. 

“You’ll love it, Sam always made the best pancakes, I can’t believe we haven’t gotten you some since…well…you know.” Dean said enthusiastically, before his smile dropped and he gave Cas and Jack empathetic looks. 

Lucifer and Michael were gone. Chuck was human and powerless, and Jack, with powers drawn from Chuck, had set everything right in Heaven and on Earth. But it all had a cost and for Cas and Jack, that was their powers. To save the world, they’d lost the most defining parts of themselves, they were no longer angels. The amount of work and energy to set things right in Heaven, drained Jack of everything he had, though he gave it up willingly and happily. His duty in life was to help others, his family, and he did exactly that. Though monsters were still alive and well and though Hell was up and running at full speed, the rumblings of war and constant battles between Heaven, Hell, and Earth were of the past. Hunters still hunted, demons caused trouble, and angels stepped in when needed. A balance. 

For Cas, defending Dean from Death, falling straight into the empty, had been worth it. He was resigned to die, or what he imaged to be death, left in the encroaching darkness forever. It was a small price to pay to protect his family. But it was only temporary, as Jack lifted him straight back to Earth as soon as he had the chance, as soon as he had absorbed enough power from Chuck. It was difficult days, though the days were now behind them. 

Still, it was taking some time to get adjusted to life as normal humans. Jack enjoyed sleeping and eating and standing under the warm water of a shower until the drops turned cold. He worked with Dean and Sam on how to fight hand-to-hand, and how to use their normal weapons. Cas, on the other hand, had spent so much of his life as an angel that he was having a much harder time, despite having been human before. The allure of it seemed to escape him when he knew it was forever. 

“I’d like that.” Jack stated matter-of-factly, his teeth showing through his mouth. He always had a perpetual smile that hit Dean right in the chest. Good kid. 

Cas’ eyes were light, his face neutral as it always was. “Okay”, he said lightly as he rose and pushed in his chair, grabbing some of the empty cups strewn across the table. Dean clapped his hands together and began helping the boys clear away some of the mess, though he was less than impressed by Cas’ unenthusiastic response and his increasing secludedness during the day. 

\---

Sometime later, the four boys all found themselves in the kitchen, taking in the deep smells of maple syrup and butter. Dean began pulling out plates and silverware from the cabinets while Jack helped wash some of the old dishes from earlier that week. Green shirt rolled up to his elbows, his hands pruning from the hot water of the sink. 

“Alright Jack, let me tell you, you’re about to have the best and I mean the best food that humanity has to offer, okay. Bacon is basically its own food group.” Dean stated as he sat down four plates at the small table in the corner of the room before turning on the coffee machine and pulling creamer out of the fridge. 

Sam explained to Jack that bacon, while good, was not in fact, a food group and that being human meant that you had to watch your cholesterol before Dean began interrupting him going on about “living a little” and “the human experience”. Cas had noticed that Dean was in a better mood more recently, I suppose saving the world would do that to you, but his positive demeanor was lasting much longer than even Cas had expected it. Dean seemed almost…happy. Cas, however, was contemplating other things now, his mind turning inwards, tuning out the current conversation. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, as Sam finished his first couple pancakes, sliding them onto Jack and Dean’s plates. 

Dean pulled out his chair quickly, picking the bottle of maple syrup and smothering his stack. Jack looked on and repeated the action, cutting into his pancakes the same as Dean and stuffing them into his mouth, his eyes lighting up at the savory and sweet flavor that overcame him. 

\---

Dean was too busy shoveling pancakes into his mouth that he didn’t hear the soft click of the door shut behind him. A few minutes passed, Sam slid a few more pancakes onto his and Cas’ plate and filled everyone up on eggs and bacon before sliding his own chair out, sitting down for his dinner. 

“C’mon Cas, eat up before I eat yours.” Dean said, tearing off a piece of bacon he held in his hand and looking up and around the kitchen for the angel. 

“Cas?” Dean questioned, looking from Jack to Sam, both boys shaking their head in confusion and shrugging.

“You guys finish up; I’ll go look for him. If he didn’t want any he could’ve just said. If I’m not back in 10 minutes, put his plate in the microwave for me would you Sammy?” Dean stated, more as a command then as a request, pushing in his chair and throwing down a half-eaten piece of bacon back on his plate.

Dean walked casually around the bunker, checking every room for the angel. Making sure to look in Cas’ usual hangout spots and even the bathroom. He was human now, after all. Dean called for Cas in his mind, prayed for him to show himself, before he realized that Cas couldn’t hear him. Answering prayers was for angels and Cas was no longer an angel. 

Cursing himself for forgetting so easily, Dean walked into his room, pulled a coat out of his closet and grabbed the keys to the Impala. He couldn’t have gone too far with his human legs. 

Dean climbed the stairs and exited the bunker into a crisp Summer evening. The moon hung high, stars freckled the sky, wind rustled leaves and trees. Kansas was certainly one of the best places to see the stars, and out at the bunker, there was no light pollution. The sky seemed to stretch for an eternity overhead as Dean took a deep breath in and let out a short huff. He stalked over to the Impala, sliding keys into the driver’s side door, looking around the grounds outside the bunker before stopping short. 

Up on the hill on the right side, Dean could see a shadow of a man. He was tall, gazing up at the stars, his coat swaying in the slight wind, hair rustling alongside it. Dean pulled the keys out of the door, stuffing them in his pocket and walking towards the hill. He climbed up the side, both hands in his jacket as he approached the angel. 

“Cas?” Dean questioned, approaching him quietly and slowly. 

“Dean. Sorry, just needed some…air” Cas said, his voice low and gravely as usual. 

“If you wanted something else…we could’ve fixed it.” Dean stated, mild confusion washing over him, feeling guilty for whatever he had done to upset the angel. 

“No, it’s….not that” Cas said, his blue eyes dimly lit by the galaxy above. 

“You feeling okay?” Dean said, standing side by side with his friend, looking over to him. 

“I’m not…sure. I’m not use to feeling…feeling this intensely anyway.” Cas sighed heavily; his gaze still focused on the moonlight that swallowed them. 

“You’ve been pretty quiet all day…all week really.” Dean suggested, pointing out the obvious. 

“Yes, that’s true.” Cas replied. 

“Something to do with the case today?” Dean asked softly, trying to pry but not too much. 

“No, I was actually fairly happy that it turned out to be nothing.” Cas stated, burying his hands in his trench coat pockets. 

“Don’t tell Jack that, I think he was excited to send some demons back to hell.” Dean smirked and let out a short laugh. 

“Well, the more cases that turn out to be nothing, the safer we’ll all be.” Cas said contemplatively. 

Dean’s eyes cast downward, the wheels turning in his head. 

“Is that what this is about? You’re afraid something is going to happen to us?” Dean asked quietly, trying to respect Cas’ concerns.

“Shouldn’t I be?” Cas turned to Dean, confused. 

“I mean, no offense Cas, but we’ve been fighting monsters a long time, it’s no different now. I mean, hell, now? Things are way better off than they were before, I’d have thought you’d be less concerned?” Dean questioned looking over to the angel.

“Now is different. Now, I can’t protect you, I think that is cause for concern.” Cas stated angrily, more at himself than anything else. His gaze broke back to the rolling plains in front of them covered in windswept grass. 

Dean had nothing to say, he could understand where the angel was coming from, but that wasn’t something that him nor Sam had thought about. They had survived long before Cas came along and while they were grateful for him, they always managed to pull through somehow. They always had each other. 

“If I can’t protect you…or Sam, or Jack, then what is the point of me? That’s all my life has been about and now, I can’t heal, I can’t kill, I’m a liability.” Cas continued, speaking softly, his lips turning into a frown. 

“What’s the point of you?” Dean looked at Cas incredulously. “You’re family Cas. We’ll teach you to hunt, we’ll learn how to fix each other, and we’ll protect each other however we can. Sam and I didn’t keep you around just because you could protect us, or heal us, or fight with us. If that was the case, then Rowena would’ve been living here full time. Maybe in the beginning that’s what it was like, sure, but now? Humans…we don’t have a point. We find our own reasons for living, that’s what this has all been about, has it not? With Chuck in charge, me and Sam, neither of us had a point. We were just playing his stupid ridiculous game, but now? Now, we get to choose, we get to make the decisions. The point is that you’re here with us and you get to choose now what you want, and you don’t have to have a point.” Dean concluded. 

Cas glanced over at Dean, before looking off to the right, eyes averting quickly, unsure of how to respond. Minutes passed between the pair, both silent. 

“I’m trying hard to think about what I’m supposed to want now…being human. I used not to want, but to have a purpose thrust upon me, my duty, albeit a long and winding road with many different paths. I don’t know what this is like. This…being this…no restrictions and nobody to serve, what am I supposed to want for myself? I don’t know…” Cas voice was searching, his eyes vulnerable, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

“I mean, look, I get it man, thousands of years being an angel and suddenly this? You’re not supposed to have it all figured out, you got time.” Dean waved his hands in the air then shoved them back into his pockets, the wind picking up around them causing cool air to slide up his arms. 

“What do you want, Dean?” Cas said, shifting his gaze to the hunter. Dean was taken aback by the sudden question. “I thought I knew, but being this, my thoughts are all strung out, they’re turning over every moment. I don’t know how you all do it. You seem happy…more so now. I’m trying to make sense of it. What is it that you want? Or wanted? Really?”  
“I want…” Dean trailed off, looking up at the stars, eyes gazing in wonder and thought. It took Dean a few minutes of searching to find the right words. “I want to stand here forever.” He stated decidedly. 

Cas looked over at him, mildly confused. 

“Here…on this hill specifically?” Cas stated, a bit of his angel-ness and literal thought process revealing itself again, making Dean chuckle. 

“Not here here…but here. In Kansas, in the bunker, with you…and Sam and Jack. And I want us to do what we do, without worrying about saving the world, without wondering if we’re playing someone else’s game. I want to take a break, eat cake, show you and Jack what it’s like to be…human. Maybe catch a few demons and vamps here and there, save a few people. But I also want to go for a drive just because, visit Jody and the girls, watch tv, and hell…maybe even teach Jack how to play baseball. Kids’ got no coordination without all his powers.” Dean laughed lightly, gesturing to the bunker and the sky with his hands before rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Hmm.” Cas said, Dean could tell he was processing this all very slowly. 

“This is the best my life has been Cas, honestly. And sometimes I feel like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. For another Michael to show up from Apocalypse World 2.0, or for Chuck to somehow regain his powers. I go to bed at night and feel restful, but when I wake up in the morning my first thought is about who we have to fight next. It’s weird…to not have that, so I get it. I’m never going to know how you feel about this, but I can try and understand it. For now, I’m trying to enjoy every moment, trying to relax with my family.” Dean’s voice was straining and filled with longing and predicting happiness. 

“You and Jack…you’ve saved our lives many times over, you don’t have to do it anymore. I mean you literally threw yourself into the empty for me. And I know we haven’t talked about it, but I want you to stay, and I want you to want to stay, but you deserve a chance to make that choice.” Dean was heartfelt in everything he was saying, his voice soothing and oddly serene, his hand brushing up against Cas’.

Cas didn’t have a response, human emotions were so overwhelming, he felt every extreme bubbling up inside him. His breath was heavy, intaking the night air, trying to understand it all. 

“And I do…love you, Cas.” Dean said and time stood still in that moment. 

“Always have, always will. Sam and I, we’re not very vulnerable people. We were never allowed that luxury. Anyone that got close to us, got the axe. We didn’t have the ability to be happy, but I think now, for once, we may finally have the chance. And it’s been hard to understand and hard to accept, but I think it would be a waste to let it go.” Dean said, his voice soft, his eyes moving to lock with the angels.

“All of us are a bit rough around the edges, we had to be, but I think this is our chance to soften, just a little bit.” Dean said kindly, his eyes wrinkling as he began to laugh. 

“God, I sound like Sam.” Dean muttered, shaking his head, before looking back to the angel. 

Shadows cast against Cas’ rough features; eyes even more strikingly blue than Dean thought possible. The silence expanded; Dean worried he’d said too much, and yet, not enough. 

“So, whatever it is that you want, you can have. And you don’t have to worry about anyone but yourself. You’ve done enough for others, for us.” Dean said, a smirk forming at the side of his mouth. “ But I want you to stay and laugh and eat. With me. With us.” Dean made a sudden movement and wrapped his hand inside of the angel’s, fingertips sliding into place alongside Castiels’. 

Castiel broke his gaze with Dean, hand tightening around the hunter’s. Dean was surprised and thankful, his thoughts unraveling at the reciprocation. 

“I think that would be good. I think I would…want that.” Cas said, his features softening, a small smile of understanding and thanks and love slowly revealing itself upon his face.

Starlight was washing over the expanse of plains, over the two men, and over the thousands of miles of land ahead of them.


End file.
